'Piddling' British fiction loses out to Americans

British novels are often 'piddling' and 'parochial' in comparison with American fiction, the chair of the judges of Britain's richest literary prize has claimed.

The shortlist for the £30,000 Orange Prize, announced today, contains only one British writer among four Americans and a Canadian. The chairwoman, Lola Young, said the judges, who include TV personality Mariella Frostrup, simply found the North Americans more exciting.

'The British books tended to fall into two categories. There were ones by thirtysomethings, quite insular and parochial. Some were entertaining in their attitudes to sex, but you got no sense of the bigger picture. The more traditional novels were good on a certain level, but they tended towards the domestic in a piddling sort of way, which is very British,' said Ms Young, professor of cultural studies at Middlesex university.

The dropping of Beryl Bainbridge's Master Georgie from the final list has also caused consternation. Auberon Waugh, Literary Review editor, said he was dismayed by the final six. 'I am particularly upset for Beryl, who has written a great book.'

Ms Bainbridge said: 'It's just nonsense to say our books have got stuffy, domestic or parochial. Who is this woman? She is a professor of cultural studies. Well, that damns her.

'It is our piddling critics and judges which maybe are the problem.'

This is not the first time that the Orange Prize, restricted to women writers, has caused controversy. Only one winner has been British.

Ms Young said Americans were not necessarily better writers, but there 'is something about the way they take small, intimate stories and set them against this vast physical and cultural landscape which is very appealing.'

The only British novel on the list is Julia Blackburn's The Leper's Companions, a time-travel tale set in Suffolk. The early favourite is Canadian Marilyn Bowering's Visible Worlds.

The other books on the shortlist are A Crime In The Neighborhood by Suzanne Berne; The Short History Of A Prince by Jane Hamilton; The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver; and Paradise by Toni Morrison. The winner will be announced on June 8.